A recent study published in National Science Review reveals that the spring Southern Annular Mode (SAM) underwent a marked spatial shift around 1998. Since then, its wave-like features have strengthened, enhancing its delayed impact on Antarctic summer sea ice. The 2022 and 2023 record-low events both followed strong spring positive SAM anomalies. The study further suggests that ENSO, through more frequent positive SAM-La Niña co-occurrence, may amplify SAM’s influence on Antarctic sea ice.

A team led by the Beijing Institute of Technology presents a unified framework in National Science Review for personalized healthcare termed self-powered intelligence. It describes how on-device AI, flexible electronics, and body-based energy harvesting can be co-designed into wearable patches and implantable sensors, enabling them to analyze physiological signals in real time, predict health risks, for continuous and personalized healthcare.

Topological phase transition is attracting great attention in condensed matter physics, and its gate-voltage-reversible control is essential for electrically driven topological devices. Recently, Professor Jinxiong Wu’s team at Nankai University achieved the first gate-voltage-reversible topological phase transition in β-Ag₂Te nanodevices, evidenced by a π Berry phase transition. Theoretical attributes this to the Stark effect modulating band structure. Based on this, they built a prototype topological phase transition transistor with on-off ratio exceeding 10⁴, opening a new route for electrically controlled topological devices.

A research paper just published in Science China Life Sciences reports single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) as a powerful technology that, for the first time at single-cell resolution, reveals the spatiotemporal pattern of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) signaling in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis) leaves, which mediates precise control of the intracellular transcriptional reprogramming and drought tolerance mechanisms.

Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University have successfully utilized a novel screw extrusion-plasticizing friction stir deposition (SEFSD) process to 3D print 5183 aluminum alloy components in the solid state. This innovative approach bypasses the melting phase, significantly reducing common defects like pores and element evaporation. The resulting components showcase a refined microstructure and excellent mechanical properties, paving the way for efficient manufacturing of aerospace and marine structures.

The authors identify appropriate key performance indicators of resilience for AI-integrated cyber-physical infrastructures, and develop a comprehensive framework that can be used by researchers and practitioners as a guideline to model the resilience of such infrastructures at macro and micro levels. They illustrate how the framework can be applied by means of a case study.